A sliding door is provided for a railcar which is formed in modular sections and more particular which includes a flexible portion permitting the modular sections to be deflected relative to one another.
Box rail cars of the type having sliding doors are commonly loaded using various lifting and handling equipment. Known sliding doors for these types of rail cars generally are not suitably arranged to absorb impacts which are known to occur from the lifting and handling equipment used for loading the boxcars. As a result damage to sliding doors is one of the most common repairs required in the maintenance of box rail cars. Among the repairs to doors of this type, straightening the doors as a result of impacts from lifting and handling equipment is the most common.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a sliding door for a rail car construction comprising a floor, a side wall along one side of the floor and standing upwardly from the floor and an opening in the side wall, the sliding door comprising:
a sliding door member arranged to be mounted on top and bottom rails at the opening extending parallel to a plane of the opening with the door movable from a closed position at the opening to an open position spaced along the rails from the opening;
the sliding door member including a flexible portion being movable between a relaxed position and a flexed position in which the flexible portion is deflected in a direction transversely to the plane of the opening in relation to the relaxed position.
Providing a sliding door for a rail car having a flexible portion permits the door to absorb the impacts known to occur when loading a rail car, thus preventing permanent deformation of the door which would otherwise require costly repair when no flexible portion is provided. Having only a portion of the door being flexible permits the door to remain sufficiently structurally rigid to contain cargo within the rail car as required.
The door member is preferably divided into at least two panel sections and includes a flexible coupling connecting said at least two panel sections together so as to permit deflection of the sliding door member at an intersection of said at least two panel sections in a direction transversely to the plane of the opening.
The door member may include at least one lateral intersection extending between respective sides of the door member and dividing the door into panel sections being connected one above the other by the flexible coupling or at least one longitudinal intersection extending between respective top and bottom ends of the door member and dividing the door into panel sections being connected laterally adjacent one another by the flexible coupling.
The intersection between said at least two panel sections preferably comprises an end plate on each panel section adjacent the intersection and a resilient material mounted between the end plates. The panel sections may be connected by the flexible coupling using threaded fasteners such that the panel sections are selectively separable from one another.
There may be provided a plurality of panel sections, each coupled to adjacent panel sections by a flexible coupling, preferably at least two panel sections being substantially identical to one another.
Edges of the panel sections preferably each comprise a mounting flange oriented perpendicularly to a plane of the respective panel section having a plurality of mounting apertures therein, the mounting apertures being arranged for alignment with the mounting apertures of an adjacent panel section when the panel sections are abutted one adjacent the other for receiving respective fasteners therethrough.
There may be provided a peripheral guard supported on each side of the door member, the peripheral guard spanning plural panel sections along respective sides of the door member.
When the door is divided horizontally into a plurality of panel sections, each peripheral guard preferably comprises a rigid member spanning substantially a full length of the respective side of the door member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a sliding door for a rail car construction comprising a floor, a side wall along one side of the floor and standing upwardly from the floor and an opening in the side wall, the sliding door comprising:
a door member arranged to be supported on top and bottom rails at the opening extending parallel to a plane of the opening, movable from a closed position at the opening to an open position spaced along the rails from the opening;
the door member comprising a plurality of panel sections, each panel section having top, bottom and side edges selectively mounted to corresponding edges of respective adjacent panel sections each having a similar configuration; and
top and bottom rail guides arranged to be selectively mounted on the respective top and bottom ends of the sliding door member, the top and bottom rail guides being arranged to support the door member on the respective top and bottom rails.
Providing a sliding door for a rail car formed of modular sections permits the door to accommodate the impacts known to occur when loading a rail car by permitting individual damaged sections to be replaced-independently of one another. The resulting repair costs for impacted and damaged doors are dramatically reduced by replacing individual sections of the door instead of the entire door. By forming the sections of the door identical to one another, costs can further be reduced as only a single modular section design is required to be manufactured and supplied to customers.
The panel sections may all be identical to one another. In one arrangement, only the top edges of the respective panel sections may be all substantially identical to one another, or alternatively, the bottom edges of the respective panel sections may be all substantially identical to one another. In yet a further arrangement, side edges of the panel sections are all substantially identical to one another. It is preferred for simplicity however, that all edges of the panel sections be similar in configuration to one another.
The top rail guides are preferably supported on the top edges of respective panel sections at the top end of the door member by threaded fasteners for ease of replacement if required. Similarly, the bottom rail guides are preferably supported on the bottom edges of respective panel sections at the bottom end of the door member by threaded fasteners
When there is provided a base section selectively mounted on the bottom edge of each panel section adjacent the bottom end of the door member, the bottom rail guides are preferably supported on the base sections by threaded fasteners.
There may be provided a plurality of side panel sections mounted along respective sides of the door member and a plurality of intermediate panel sections mounted between the respective side panel sections, the side panel sections all being identical to one another.
There may be provided a peripheral guard supported on each side of the door member, the peripheral guard also being arranged to be supported on the respective side edges of the panel sections along the respective sides of the door member using threaded fasteners.